New research analyses cancer death rates across India, and shows that tobacco-related cancers and cervical cancer are important causes of death among working-age people.

During the past decade, renewed global and national efforts to combat malaria have led to ambitious goals. The authors aimed to provide an accurate assessment of the levels and time trends in malaria mortality to aid assessment of progress towards these goals and the focusing of future efforts.

Anaemia aff ects a quarter of the global population, including 293 million (47%) children younger than 5 years and
468 million (30%) non-pregnant women. In addition to anaemia’s adverse health consequences, the economic eff ect
of anaemia on human capital results in the loss of billions of dollars annually. In this paper, we review the
epidemiology, clinical assessment, pathophysiology, and consequences of anaemia in low-income and middleincome countries. Our analysis shows that anaemia is disproportionately concentrated in low socioeconomic groups,

WHO’s European offi ce is making progress with its innovative new strategy to tackle the region’s health problems. But will member states and the rest of WHO take note? Robert Walgate reports

n 2008, 36 million people died from non-communicable diseases (NCDs). 1 By 2020, NCDs are projected to cause almost three quarters as many deaths as communicable, maternal, perinatal, and nutritional diseases, and by 2030 to exceed them as the most common causes of death. 2 On Sept 19, 2011, the UN will take an important step towards modification of the future course of NCDs at the High-level Meeting on Non-communicable Diseases.

With 4 years until 2015, it is essential to monitor progress towards Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 4 and 5. Although estimates of maternal and child mortality were published in 2010, an update of estimates is timely in view of additional data sources that have become available and new methods developed. Our aim was to update previous estimates of maternal and child mortality using better data and more robust methods to provide the best available evidence for tracking progress on MDGs 4 and 5.

Most are likely to agree that the accompanying call for action towards achieving universal health care in India by 2020 (hereafter referred to as the call) is timely and overdue. However, we disagree with the call in two crucial areas.

To sustain the positive economic trajectory that India has had during the past decade, and to honour the fundamental right of all citizens to adequate health care, the health of all Indian people has to be given the highest priority in public policy.

In this paper, we address the issues of shortage and maldistribution of health personnel in southeast Asia in the context of the international trade in health services. Although there is no shortage of health workers in the region overall, when analysed separately, five low-income countries have some deficit.

Newborn deaths account for 57% of deaths in children younger than 5 years in Pakistan. Although a large programme of trained lady health workers (LHWs) exists, the effectiveness of this training on newborn outcomes has
not been studied.